2AM Starlight
by Jinx13GXA
Summary: Gray hates sleeping on the ground, sleeping bag or not, but when he wakes up long before the sun and goes to bug Natsu, he's definitely not expecting to seeing the rash boy's softer side.


The hard ground had never been comfortable to Gray, so when they decided they were going to walk three towns away instead of taking the train, Gray knew the night was going to be rough. They had trekked past the first and second towns, but they weren't close enough to the second or third to camp out. The sleeping bags had come out as the moon rose, and Erza had even brought a tent with an air mattress bottom, but that was for the girls. "Why'd we walk again?"

"Because we took the train last time, Brainfreeze," Natsu answered. The clearing they'd chosen had a wide enough opening to let only a spotlight of moonlight through, which ironically, fell upon Natsu's face. His eyes were closed as he listened intently to the sound of the crackling fire and the soft rustling from the warm summer breeze.

Gray couldn't find it within himself to break the serenity, "Fair enough." He inwardly cringed as he glanced to his sleeping bag. He could already feel the soreness he'd have in the morning. Without warning, a weight was on his back and head, obscuring his vision. He pulled it forward, noting that it was Natsu's sleeping bag. "The fuck?"

"Extra padding," Natsu responded, "I plan to sleep in a tree anyways."

Gray stared at him blankly, "In a tree?"

"In a tree." Natsu's eyes cracked open as he smiled at Gray. "I did it all the time as a kid." Without another word, Natsu began gracefully climbing one of the larger trees in the area. The branches didn't so much as creak as Nastu curled his feet and hands around them, skillfully pulling himself farther and farther upwards.

"If you fall, I'm going to laugh!" he shouted.

"Nice to see that you're worried, popsicle," Natsu yelled back.

"Both of you shut the fuck up before I chop your dicks off with one of Erza's swords!" Lucy screeched from the tent.

"Sorry!"

* * *

The moon was still in the sky when Gray awoke, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall back into the the waiting grasp of unconsciousness. He sat up where he was, the soreness already annoying him. "Fucking great," he whispered, the sarcasm rolling off his tongue in waves. The fire had gone out long ago, leaving the area a bit colder, and the girls tent remained stubbornly closed. He stood up quietly and wandered over to the tree where Natsu was sleeping. One branch after another, he slowly climbed upwards. They creaked with every step, and as soon as Gray could see Natsu, he had to stop. The branches were already too small and straining to hold his weight, so going onto smaller ones wasn't the best idea.

In an instant the one he was standing on snapped, his weight being pulled on harshly by gravity.

A warm hand enclosed around his wrist and pulled, easily keeping him from falling, "Dumbass," Natsu hissed. With a single heave, Gray was sitting on top of the stable trunk. "The fuck did you climb the tree for?"

Gray shrugged, tired and bored out of his mind. "Couldn't go back to sleep."

"So you come bug me?"

"Yep."

Natsu shook his head, not once meeting Gray's eyes. "Well what do you want me to do about it?"

Gray shrugged and lied down next to his rival. Neither one of them bothered to speak for a while, their gaze too lost in the stars above. The silence stretched on until Gray believed the slayer had fallen asleep, but a tiny whisper proved him wrong. "You know, when I was little, Igneel taught me how to read the stars." Gray almost asked what he meant, but Natsu kept going, "Not like how Lucy reads them, with names and maps, but how to read them. To use them for directions and time and to just…" A soft sigh left his lips, "Sometimes the dumbest things remind me of Igneel, and it hurts, because he's gone, and I know he's gone." A tiny sniffle was choked out, and Gray nearly lunged for the pinkette. "What am I even doing? You're probably asleep anyways."

Gray didn't answer, too frozen in shock to do so. When he turned to look at the Natsu he was met with the fire mage's back. A quick glance at the sky and a memory of Ur told him all he needed to know. "It's a little after two," Gray said softly, and Natsu's sharp inhale nearly made him regret it.

"Yeah…" Natsu finally replied.

They dozed off not long after, both completely comfortable in the other's presence. Even waking up wound together wouldn't change that. They simply shot each other a smile, ready to start the next day.


End file.
